Daily reports across Nigeria are painting a terrifying picture: our roads are becoming literal death traps. Fatal crash rates are rising, and more than 80% of these are linked to poor road conditions and weak highway management.
Once vital arteries for trade and transport, major roads have deteriorated into stretches of gaping potholes, eroded lanes, missing street lights, and nonexistent signage. The hazards are worst when it rains: some streets are barely passable; others are completely blocked off. Travel is no longer just inconvenient; it’s dangerous.
In Lagos‑, Ota, Lagos‑, Sagamu‑, Ibadan, Apapa‑, Tin Can Port, Ikorodu‑, Sagamu, and many more, commuters are battling collapsing roads, abandoned contracts, and repairs that never come. Agege Motor Road, particularly Mushin‑Olosha, Bolade‑Oshodi, and Dorman Long, these areas have become snapshots of neglect.
In Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, South‑South, Edo, Delta, and Cross River, no region is spared. Travel times that should be short now take hours. Vehicles are constantly being damaged. Lives are being lost. And often, in the darkest hours, those driving have no recourse but fear, fear of crash, of breakdown, and even of crime on desolate stretches of bad roads.
Officials say funding is inadequate, the wrong contractors were chosen, and some contracts were never finished. State governments are pledging interventions; federal agencies talk of ongoing schemes. But residents are growing impatient, for relief, for repairs, for safety.
We cannot wait any longer. Our roads aren’t just concrete and asphalt; they are the lifelines of our people, economy, and safety. It’s time for urgent action: federal oversight, transparency in contracts, strict contractor performance monitoring, full rehabilitation of bad roads, and immediate response to dangerous spots.
What you can do:
- Report impassable roads to media, local reps, or road agencies.
- Demand updates on road contracts, who the contractors are, and why delays?
- Support accountability: ask what your state/federal government is doing to fix this now, not tomorrow.
Lives are at stake. Our journeys should not be this dangerous. Let’s raise our voices for safer roads, for our children, for our neighbors, for ourselves.
